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Historic Directory Military Military Clara Castle
Historic Directory Military Military Clara Castle
| Clara Castle |
| Hits (1115) | Comments (0) |
| Written by Paul Price |
| 24 June 2008 |
- Details
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Building name Clara Castle Submitted by Paul Price Building type Towerhouse castle Construction date Beams about 1500, new oak roof added late 20th century Timbers used Oak No they do not look great but these are some of the only surving original examples of original towerhouse timberwork in Ireland. The oak beams are rough hewn boxed heart timbers. These ones are over the ground floor chamber and are lower quality with more sapwood. The beams in the upper chambers are better quality. - Images
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Tower houses generally have one or two arched stone vaults which may be divided vertically into separate chambers by timbered floors carried on stone corbels. At Clara the stone vaulted volume is divided into 4 chambers by the three timber floors. The floors were almost certainly placed as the tower was built to give internal scaffolding and bracing to the tower as it was built. New oak roof by the Office of Public Works - Info & location
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Description & details In Ireland historic timberwork which is pre-1650 is very rare so the rough hewn beams surviving in the towerhouse at Clara are very unusual. They may not be much to look at but they give a good idea of how the timber floors of Irish towerhouses were joisted. The joists, about 10 inches square, are supported on corbel beams, one on either side of the chamber, which in turn are supported by the stone corbels protruding from the walls.rnrnThe oak roof at Clara is modern and made by the Office of Public Works to protect the original timbers and the masonry. Country Ireland County Kilkenny Locality Clara near Kilkenny Latitude 52°39'37.75 N Longitude 7°08'47.56 W Google Maps link http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=52.652745,-7.1817632&z=13&t=h&hl=en Visiting details The tower is open to visitors at reasonable hours and the key is available at the farmhouse beside the castle. - Discussion
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